Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

ABSTRACT

A substrate reverse moving device is composed of a reversing mechanism and a moving mechanism. A rotating mechanism incorporates a motor or the like, and is capable of rotating a first movable member and a second movable member to which first and second supporting members that support a substrate therebetween are fixed, respectively, around a horizontal axis through, for example, 180 degrees via a link mechanism. Moreover, a pair of transport rails is fixed on a base in parallel to V direction. A pair of sliding blocks is slidably attached to the pair of transport rails. A floorboard of the reversing mechanism is attached to the sliding blocks. A direct acting mechanism moves a driver in a direction parallel to the transport rails, so that the reversing mechanism moves back and forth in the V direction along the transport rails.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and asubstrate processing method for performing predetermined processing on asubstrate.

2. Description of the Background Art

Substrate processing apparatuses have been conventionally used toperform various types of processing on substrates such as semiconductorwafers, glass substrates for photomasks, glass substrates for liquidcrystal displays, glass substrates for optical disks or the like.

For example, the substrate processing apparatus including a substratereversing mechanism that reverses a top surface and a back surface ofthe substrate is described in JP 2005-85885 A. In such a substrateprocessing apparatus, a substrate transport robot that transports thesubstrate is arranged in substantially the center of a rectangularprocessing region. A plurality of (four, for example) substrateprocessing units are arranged so as to surround the substrate transportrobot in the processing region. In addition, the substrate reversingmechanism is arranged in a position where the substrate transport robotcan access in the processing region.

An indexer unit including a plurality of cassettes that store thesubstrate is provided on one end of the processing region. An indexerrobot that takes the substrate before processing out of theabove-mentioned cassette or stores the substrate after the processing inthe above-mentioned cassette is provided in the indexer unit.

In the configuration described above, the indexer robot receives thesubstrate after the processing from the substrate transport robot andstores it in the cassette while taking out the substrate before theprocessing out of any of the cassettes and transferring it to thesubstrate transport robot.

The substrate transport robot receives the substrate before theprocessing from the indexer robot, and subsequently transfers thereceived substrate to the substrate reversing mechanism. The substratereversing mechanism reverses the substrate received from the substratetransport robot so that the top surface thereof is directed downward.The substrate transport robot receives the substrate reversed by thesubstrate reversing mechanism and carries the substrate into any of thesubstrate processing units.

Next, when the processing of the substrate is finished in any of theabove-mentioned substrate processing units, the substrate transportrobot carries the substrate out of the substrate processing unit andagain transfers it to the substrate reversing mechanism. The substratereversing mechanism reverses the substrate having been subjected to theprocessing in the substrate processing unit so that the top surfacethereof is directed upward.

Then, the substrate transport robot receives the substrate reversed bythe substrate reversing mechanism and transfers it to the indexer robot.The substrate, received from the substrate transport robot, after theprocessing is stored in the cassette by the indexer robot.

As described above, the substrate, stored in the cassette, before theprocessing is reversed by the substrate reversing mechanism andsubjected to the processing (processing on the back surface of thesubstrate) in the substrate processing unit, and subsequently reversedagain by the substrate reversing mechanism and stored in the cassette asthe substrate after the processing.

In the above-described conventional substrate processing apparatus, ashuttle transporting mechanism that mediates the substrate transferredand received between the indexer robot and the substrate transport robotis provided in some cases. This allows the indexer robot and thesubstrate transport robot to efficiently perform the respectivetransport operations without being constrained by movement of eachother.

If the foregoing shuttle transporting mechanism and substrate reversingmechanism are provided in the substrate processing apparatus, however,the number of transporting processes by the substrate transport robot isincreased. Specifically, the substrate transport robot is required toperform four transporting processes for the single substrate, that is, atransporting process from the shuttle transport mechanism to thesubstrate reversing mechanism, a transporting process from the substratereversing mechanism to the substrate processing unit, a transportingprocess from the substrate processing unit to the substrate reversingmechanism and a transporting process from the substrate reversingmechanism to the shuttle transporting mechanism.

As described above, the number of the transporting processes by thesubstrate transport robot among the shuttle transporting mechanism, thesubstrate reversing mechanism and the plurality of substrate processingunits is increased. This reduces the throughput of the substrateprocessing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrateprocessing apparatus and a substrate processing method capable ofimproving the throughput of substrate processing.

(1) According to an aspect of the present invention, a substrateprocessing apparatus that subjects a substrate having one surface andthe other surface to processing includes a processing region forprocessing the substrate, a carrying in and out region for carrying thesubstrate into and out of the processing region and a transfer portionfor transferring the substrate between the processing region and thecarrying in and out region, wherein the carrying in and out regionincludes a container platform where a storing container that stores thesubstrate is placed and a first transport device that transports thesubstrate between the storing container that is placed on the containerplatform and the transfer portion, the processing region includes aprocessing unit that performs the processing on the substrate and asecond transport device that transports the substrate between thetransfer portion and the processing unit, and the transfer portionincludes a reversing mechanism that reverses the one surface and theother surface of the substrate and a moving mechanism that moves thereversing mechanism so that the substrate can be transferred between thefirst transport device and the reversing mechanism and transferredbetween the second transport device and the reversing mechanism.

In the substrate processing apparatus, the reversing mechanism is movedby the moving mechanism in the transfer portion so that the substratecan be transferred between the first transport device and the reversingmechanism. Then, the substrate is transported by the first transportdevice between the storing container that is placed on the containerplatform in the carrying in and out region and the transfer portion.

The reversing mechanism is moved by the moving mechanism so that thesubstrate can be transferred between the second transport device and thereversing mechanism while the one surface and the other surface of thesubstrate are reversed by the reversing mechanism in the above-mentionedtransfer portion. The substrate is subsequently transported by thesecond transport device between the transfer portion and the processingunit in the processing region.

As described above, the transfer portion has both the function of atransporting mechanism that mediates the substrate transferred betweenthe first transport device and the second transport device and thefunction of a reversing mechanism that reverses the substrate.Accordingly, the second transport device performs two transportingprocesses for the single substrate, that is, a transporting process fromthe transfer portion to the processing unit and a transporting processfrom the processing unit to the transfer portion. Thus, the number ofthe transporting processes by the second transport device is reduced, sothat the throughput of the substrate processing is improved.

In addition, the transfer portion including the reversing mechanism andthe moving mechanism is provided between the first transport device andthe second transport device, so that the configuration of the existingsubstrate processing apparatus (a configuration of a so-called platform)is not required to be changed. This can suppress an increase inproduction cost of the substrate processing apparatus.

(2) The moving mechanism may linearly move the reversing mechanism backand forth in a horizontal direction between a position where thesubstrate can be transferred between the first transport device and thereversing mechanism and a position where the substrate can betransferred between the second transport device and the reversingmechanism.

In this case, the substrate is reversed and transported between thefirst transport device and the second transport device when thereversing mechanism linearly moves between the position where thesubstrate can be transferred to and from the first transport device andthe position where the substrate can be transferred to and from thesecond transport device, so that the number of the transportingprocesses by the second transport device is reduced. This improves thethroughput of the substrate processing.

(3) The first transport device may include a first supporter thatsupports the substrate and is provided so as to advance and withdraw,the first supporter may advance and withdraw in a first advance/withdrawdirection with respect to the reversing mechanism when transferring andreceiving the substrate to and from the reversing mechanism, the secondtransport device may include a second supporter that supports thesubstrate and is provided so as to advance and withdraw, the secondsupporter may advance and withdraw in a second advance/withdrawdirection with respect to the reversing mechanism when transferring andreceiving the substrate to and from the reversing mechanism, the movingmechanism may rotate said reversing mechanism around a substantiallyvertical axis so that the reversing mechanism faces a first transferdirection toward the first advance/withdraw direction or a secondtransfer direction toward the second advance/withdraw direction.

In this case, the first supporter of the first transporting deviceadvances and withdraws in the first advance/withdraw direction withrespect to the reversing mechanism that is rotated by the movingmechanism, so that the substrate is transferred and received to and fromthe reversing mechanism.

Moreover, the second supporter of the second transport device advancesand withdraws in the second advance/withdraw direction with respect tothe reversing mechanism that is rotated by the moving mechanism, so thatthe substrate is transferred and received to and from the reversingmechanism.

As described above, the substrate is reversed and transported betweenthe first transport device and the second transport device when thereversing mechanism rotates to move between the first transfer directiontoward the first advance/withdraw direction and the second transferdirection toward the second advance/withdraw direction, so that thenumber of the transporting processes by the second transport device isreduced. This improves the throughout of the substrate processing.

(4) The reversing mechanism may be arranged so that a rotation anglebetween the first transfer direction and the second transfer directionis 180 degrees.

In this case, the reversing mechanism can transport the substratebetween the first transport device and the second transport device byrotating through 180 degrees when the first transfer direction and thesecond transfer direction are parallel to each other, that is, the firstadvance/withdraw direction of the first supporter of the first transportdevice and the second advance/withdraw direction of the second supporterof the second transport device are parallel to each other.

(5) The reversing mechanism may be arranged so that a rotation anglebetween the first transfer direction and the second transfer directionis smaller than 180 degrees.

In this case, the reversing mechanism can transport the substratebetween the first transport device and the second transport device byrotating through an angle of smaller than 180 degrees when the firsttransfer direction and the second transfer direction are not parallel toeach other, that is, the first advance/withdraw direction of the firstsupporter and the second advance/withdraw direction of the secondsupporter are not parallel to each other. Accordingly, the rotationangle of the reversing mechanism becomes smaller, and a transport timeof the substrate between the first transport device and the secondtransport device is shortened. This allows the throughput of thesubstrate processing to be further improved.

(6) The first transport device may be provided so as to move in parallelto a first axis direction, may store and take the substrate in and outof the storing container that is placed on the container platform in astate where the first transport device faces a second directionperpendicular to the first axis direction, and may transfer and receivethe substrate to and from the reversing mechanism in a state where thefirst transport device faces a third axis direction at an angle ofsmaller than 180 degrees to the second axis direction.

In this case, the first transport device transfers and receives thesubstrate to and from the reversing mechanism in the state where thefirst transport device faces the third axis direction at an angle ofsmaller than 180 degrees to the second axis direction, so that therotation angle of the first transport device becomes smaller. Thus, thetransport time of the substrate between the storing container and thetransfer portion is shortened. This allows the throughput of thesubstrate processing to be further improved.

(7) According to another aspect of the present invention, a substrateprocessing method for subjecting a substrate to processing by asubstrate processing apparatus including a carrying in and out regionthat includes a container platform and a first transport device, aprocessing region that includes a processing unit and a second transportdevice and a transfer portion for transferring the substrate between theprocessing region and the carrying in and out region includes the stepsof taking the substrate before processing out of a storing containerthat is placed on the container platform and transferring the taken outsubstrate before the processing to the transfer portion by the firsttransport device, moving the reversing mechanism so that the substratebefore the processing can be transferred from the reversing mechanism tothe second transport device while reversing one surface and the othersurface of the substrate before the processing by a reversing mechanismin the transfer portion, transporting the substrate before theprocessing from the transfer portion to the processing unit by thesecond transport device, processing the substrate before the processingin the processing unit, transporting the substrate having been processedin the processing unit from the processing unit to the transfer portionby the second transport device, moving the reversing mechanism so thatthe substrate after the processing can be transferred from the transferportion to the first transport device while reversing the other surfaceand the one surface of the substrate after the processing by thereversing mechanism in the transfer portion and receiving the substrateafter the processing from the transfer portion and storing the receivedsubstrate after the processing in the storing container by the firsttransport device.

A series of the processes in the substrate processing method is shownbelow. First, the first transport device takes the substrate before theprocessing out of the storing container placed on the containerplatform, and transfers the taken out substrate before the processing tothe transfer portion. Next, the reversing mechanism is moved so that thesubstrate before the processing can be transferred from the reversingmechanism to the second transport device while the one surface and theother surface of the substrate before the processing are reversed by thereversing mechanism in the transfer portion.

After the substrate before the processing is transported from thetransfer portion to the processing unit by the second transport device,the substrate before the processing is processed in the processing unit.Next, the substrate having been processed in the processing unit istransported from the processing unit to the transfer portion by thesecond transport device.

Then, the reversing mechanism is moved so that the substrate after theprocessing can be transferred from the transfer portion to the firsttransport device while the other surface and the one surface of thesubstrate after the processing are reversed by the reversing mechanismin the transfer portion. The first transport device subsequentlyreceives the substrate after the processing from the transfer portion,and stores the received substrate after the processing in the storingcontainer.

As described above, the transfer portion has both the function of thetransporting mechanism that mediates the substrate transferred betweenthe first transport device and the second transport device and thefunction of the reversing mechanism that reverses the substrate. Thus,the second transport device performs the two transporting processes forthe single substrate, that is, the transporting process from thetransfer portion to the processing unit and the transporting processfrom the processing unit to the transfer portion. This reduces thenumber of the transporting processes by the second transport device, sothat the throughput of the substrate processing is improved.

In addition, the transfer portion having both the function of thetransporting mechanism and the function of the reversing mechanism isprovided between the first transport device and the second transportdevice, so that the configuration of the existing substrate processingapparatus (the configuration of the so-called platform) is not requiredto be changed. This can suppress the increase in the production cost ofthe substrate processing apparatus.

According to the configuration of the present invention, the number ofthe transporting processes by the second transport device is reduced, sothat the throughput of the substrate processing is improved.

Other features, elements, characteristics, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following description ofpreferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to afirst embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a processing unit;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a substrate reverse movingdevice;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a main part ofthe substrate reverse moving device;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a part of thesubstrate reverse moving device;

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing configurations of an indexer robot and asubstrate transport robot in the substrate processing apparatus of FIG.1;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing transporting processes of a substrate;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to asecond embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a substrate reverse movingdevice of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according toa third embodiment; and

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing an arrangement of a substratereverse moving device in the third embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing methodaccording to one embodiment of the present invention will now bedescribed with reference to drawings.

In the following description, a substrate refers to a semiconductorwafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a glass substratefor a PDP (plasma display panel), a glass substrate for a photomask, asubstrate for an optical disk and the like.

In addition, examples of a chemical liquid include BHF (bufferedhydrofluoric acid), DHF (diluted hydrofluoric acid), hydrofluoric acid,hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, aceticacid, oxalic acid, oxygenated water, an aqueous solution of ammonia andthe like or a mixture solution thereof.

Hereinafter, processing by using these chemical liquids is referred toas chemical liquid processing. Normally, rinsing processing of thesubstrate by using a rinse liquid is performed after the chemical liquidprocessing is finished. Examples of the rinse liquid include pure water,carbonated water, ozone water, magnetic water, regenerated water(hydrogen water) and ion water, as well as organic solvent such as IPA(isopropyl alcohol) or the like.

(1) First Embodiment (1-1) Configuration of Substrate ProcessingApparatus

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to afirst embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of the substrate processingapparatus of FIG. 1. Note that a horizontal direction that isperpendicular to a vertical direction is defined as a U direction and aV direction, and the vertical direction that is perpendicular to thehorizontal direction is defined as a T direction in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.This also applies to diagrams described later.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 100 includesprocessing regions A, B, and a transport region C therebetween.

A controller 4, fluid boxes 2 a, 2 b and processing units MP1, MP3 andprocessing units MP2, MP4 are arranged in the processing region A.

As shown in FIG. 2, the processing units MP2, MP4 are provided above theprocessing units MP1, MP3, respectively.

Each of the fluid boxes 2 a, 2 b of FIG. 1 stores fluid-relatedequipment such as pipes, joints, valves, flowmeters, regulators, pumps,temperature controllers, chemical liquid storage tanks or the likeinvolved in supply and drain the chemical liquid and pure water to/fromthe processing units MP1, MP2 and the processing units MP3, MP4.

In the processing units MP1, MP3, the chemical liquid processing usingthe above-mentioned chemical liquid is performed. Also in the processingunits MP2, MP4, the chemical liquid processing using the above-mentionedchemical liquid is performed. Note that the rinsing processing usingpure water or the like is performed after the chemical liquidprocessing.

In the processing region B, fluid boxes 2 c, 2 d, processing units MP5,MP7 and processing units MP6, MP8 are arranged. The processing unitsMP6, MP8 are provided above the processing units MP5, MP7, respectively.

Each of the fluid boxes 2 c, 2 d of FIG. 1 stores fluid-relatedequipment such as pipes, joints, valves, flow meters, regulators, pumps,temperature controllers, chemical liquid storage tanks or the likeinvolved in supply and drain the chemical liquid and pure water to/fromthe processing units MP5, MP6 and the processing units MP7, MP8.

In the processing unit Mp5, MP7, MP6, MP8, chemical liquid processingsimilar to that in the above-described processing units MP1, MP3, MP2,MP4 is performed.

Hereinafter, in the case of indicating an arbitrary one of theprocessing units MP1, MP3, MP5, MP7 and the processing units MP2, MP4,MP6, MP8, it is referred to as the processing unit.

In the present embodiment, chemical liquid supply mechanisms that supplyhydrofluoric acid, ammonia water, oxygenated water and hydrochloric acidas the chemical liquids to the processing units are provided in thefluid boxes 2 a-2 d, respectively.

A substrate transport robot CR is provided in the transport region C. Anindexer ID for carrying in and out the substrate is arranged on one endof the processing regions A, B.

The indexer ID includes a plurality of carrier platforms 1 a and anindexer robot IR. Carriers 1 that store the substrates W are placed onthe carrier platforms 1 a, respectively. In the present embodiment,FOUPs (Front Opening Unified Pods) that store the substrates W in anenclosed state are used as the carriers 1, however, other carriersincluding SMIF (Standard Mechanical Inter Face) pods or OCs (OpenCassettes) may also be used as the carriers 1. The indexer robot IR isso constructed that it can move in the U direction in the indexer ID.

Here, a transfer portion 3 is provided in a position of the transportregion C between the indexer ID and the substrate transport robot CR inthe present embodiment. The transfer portion 3 includes a substratereverse moving device 7 that reverses a top surface and a back surfaceof the substrate W. Here, the top surface of the substrate W refers to asurface on which a variety of patterns such as a circuit pattern or thelike are to be formed. This substrate reverse moving device 7 canlinearly move back and forth on a pair of transport rails 3 a in the Vdirection in the transfer portion 3.

In such a configuration, the indexer robot IR takes the substrate Wbefore processing out of the carrier 1 and transfers the substrate W tothe substrate reverse moving device 7. Conversely, the indexer robot IRreceives the substrate W after the processing from the substrate reversemoving device 7 and returns the substrate W to the carrier 1.

In addition, the substrate reverse moving device 7 reverses thesubstrate W received from the indexer robot IR while moving the reversedsubstrate W to the vicinity of the substrate transport robot CR alongthe above-mentioned V direction. Detail will be described later.

Further, the substrate transport robot CR transports the substrate Wreceived from the substrate reverse moving device 7 to a specifiedprocessing unit, or transports the substrate W received from theprocessing unit to another processing unit, or transfers the substrate Wreceived from the processing unit to the substrate reverse moving device7

The controller 4 is composed of a computer or the like including a CPU(central processing unit), and controls an operation of each of theprocessing units MP1-MP8 in the processing regions A, B, operations ofthe substrate reverse moving device 7 and the substrate transport robotCR in the transport region C and an operation of the indexer robot IR inthe indexer ID.

Note that the substrate processing apparatus 100 is provided in a cleanroom or the like with downflow formed therein. In addition, downflow isformed in each of the processing units MP1-MP8 and the transport regionC.

(1-2) Configuration of Processing Unit

Next, configurations of the processing units MP1-MP8 are described withreference to a drawing. Note that the configuration of the processingunit MP1 is described as a typical example in the following since theprocessing units MP1-MP8 have the same configuration.

In the processing unit MP1, processing for cleaning the substrate,processing for etching a film on the substrate, processing for removingpolymer residues (resist residues, for example) on the substrate and thelike are performed. In the following, the processing for cleaning thesubstrate is described as an example.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the processingunit MP1. As shown in FIG. 3, the processing unit MP1 includes a housing101, a spin chuck 21 that is provided in the housing 101 and rotatesaround a vertical axis passing through substantially the center of thesubstrate W while holding the substrate W almost horizontally and a fanfilter unit FFU that is provided so as to close an opening at an upperend of the housing 101. The fan filter unit FFU forms downflow withinthe housing 101. Note that the fan filter unit FFU is composed of a fanand a filter.

The spin chuck 21 is fixed to an upper end of a rotating shaft 25 thatis rotated by a chuck rotation-driving mechanism 36. The substrate W isrotated while being horizontally held by the spin chuck 21 when thecleaning processing using the chemical liquid is performed.

A first motor 60 is provided outside the spin chuck 21. A first rotatingshaft 61 is connected to the first motor 60. A first arm 62 is coupledto the first rotating shaft 61 so as to extend in the horizontaldirection, and a processing liquid nozzle 50 is provided at the tip ofthe first arm 62. The processing liquid nozzle 50 supplies the chemicalliquid for cleaning the substrate W onto the substrate W.

A second motor 60 a is provided outside the spin chuck 21. A secondrotating shaft 61 a is connected to the second motor 60 a, and a secondarm 62 a is coupled to the second rotating shaft 61 a. A pure waternozzle 50 a is provided at the tip of the second arm 62 a. The purewater nozzle 50 a supplies pure water onto the substrate W in therinsing processing after the cleaning processing. When the cleaningprocessing is performed by using the processing liquid nozzle 50, thepure water nozzle 50 a is retracted to a predetermined position.

The rotating shaft 25 of the spin chuck 21 is composed of a hollowshaft. A processing liquid supply pipe 26 is inserted through therotating shaft 25. The chemical liquid such as pure water, a cleaningliquid or the like is supplied to the processing liquid supply pipe 26.The processing liquid supply pipe 26 extends to a position in vicinityto a lower surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 21. A lowersurface nozzle 27 for discharging the chemical liquid toward the centerof the lower surface of the substrate W is provided at the tip of theprocessing liquid supply pipe 26.

The spin chuck 21 is stored in a processing cup 23. A cylindricalpartition wall 33 is provided inside the processing cup 23. A drainspace 31 for draining the chemical liquid used for the cleaningprocessing of the substrate W is formed so as to surround the spin chuck21. Furthermore, a liquid recovery space 32 for recovering the chemicalliquid used for the cleaning processing of the substrate W is formedbetween the processing cup 23 and the partition wall 33 so as tosurround the drain space 31.

A drain pipe 34 for leading the chemical liquid into a drain processingdevice (not shown) is connected to the drain space 31. A recovery pipe35 for leading the chemical liquid into a recovery and reuse device (notshown) is connected to the liquid recovery space 32.

A guard 24 for preventing the chemical liquid from the substrate W frombeing scattered outward is provided above the processing cup 23. Thisguard 24 is shaped to be rotationally-symmetric with respect to therotating shaft 25. A drain guide groove 41 with a V-shaped cross sectionis annularly formed in an inner surface of an upper end of the guard 24

A liquid recovery guide 42 having an inclined surface that inclines downoutwardly is formed in an inner surface of a lower end of the guard 24.A partition wall-housing groove 43 for receiving the partition wall 33inside the processing cup 23 is formed in the vicinity of an upper endof the liquid recovery guide 42. A guard lifting mechanism (not shown)composed of a ball-screw mechanism or the like is connected to theabove-described guard 24.

The guard lifting mechanism moves the guard 24 upward and downwardbetween a recovery position in which the liquid recovery guide 42 facesan outer circumference of the substrate W held on the spin chuck 21 anda drain position in which the drain guide groove 41 faces the outercircumference of the substrate W held on the spin chuck 21.

When the guard 24 is in the recovery position (the position of the guard24 shown in FIG. 3), the chemical liquid scattered outward from thesubstrate W is led into the liquid recovery space 32 by the liquidrecovery guide 42, and is then recovered through the recovery pipe 35.On the other hand, when the guard 24 is in the drain position, thechemical liquid scattered outward from the substrate W is led into thedrain space 31 by the drain guide groove 41, and is then drained throughthe drain pipe 34.

The foregoing configuration causes the chemical liquid to be drained andrecovered. When the substrate W is carried onto the spin chuck 21, theguard lifting mechanism retracts the guard 24 further downwardly fromthe drain position, and moves the guard 24 so that an upper end 24 a ofthe guard 24 is at a position lower than the height at which the spinchuck 21 holds the substrate W.

Above the spin chuck 21, a disk-shaped shielding plate 22 having anopening at its center is provided. A supporting shaft 29 is provided soas to extend vertically downward from the vicinity of an end of an arm28, and the shielding plate 22 is attached to a lower end of thesupporting shaft 29 so as to face an upper surface of the substrate Wheld on the spin chuck 21.

A nitrogen gas supply passage 30 that communicates with the opening ofthe shielding plate 22 is inserted through the supporting shaft 29.Nitrogen gas (N₂) is supplied to the nitrogen gas supply passage 30. Thenitrogen gas supply passage 30 supplies the nitrogen gas to thesubstrate W at the time of drying processing after the rinsingprocessing with pure water. In addition, a pure water supply pipe 39that communicates with the opening of the shielding plate 22 is insertedthrough the nitrogen gas supply passage 30. Pure water or the like issupplied to the pure water supply pipe 39.

A shielding plate lifting mechanism 37 and a shielding plate rotationmechanism 38 are connected to the arm 28. The shielding plate liftingmechanism 37 moves the shielding plate 22 upward and downward between aposition in vicinity to the upper surface of the substrate W held on thespin chuck 21 and a position spaced upwardly apart from the spin chuck21. The shielding plate rotation mechanism 38 rotates the shieldingplate 22.

(1-3) Configuration and Operation of the Substrate Reverse Moving Device

Next, a configuration of the substrate reverse moving device 7 isdescribed with reference to drawings.

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of the substrate reverse movingdevice 7 of FIG. 1. FIG. 4( a) is a side view of the substrate reversemoving device 7, and FIG. 4( b) is a top view of the substrate reversemoving device 7. Moreover, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing theappearance of a main part of the substrate reverse moving device 7, andFIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a part of thesubstrate reverse moving device 7.

As shown in FIG. 4, the substrate reverse moving device 7 is composed ofa reversing mechanism 70 and a moving mechanism 30.

The reversing mechanism 70 includes a first supporting member 71, asecond supporting member 72, a plurality of substrate supporting pins 73a, 73 b, a first movable member 74, a second movable member 75, a fixingplate 76, a link mechanism 77, a rotating mechanism 78 and a floorboard79.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first supporting member 71 is composed of sixbar-shaped members that extend radially. An end portion of each of thesix bar-shaped members is provided with a substrate supporting pin 73 a.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 6, the second supporting member 72 iscomposed of six bar-shaped members that extend radially. An end portionof each of the six bar-shaped members is provided with a substratesupporting pin 73 b.

While the first and second supporting members 71, 72 are each composedof the six bar-shaped members in the present embodiment, the first andsecond supporting members 71, 72 may be each composed of any number ofbar-shaped members or other members having any other shape, including,for example, a disk or polygonal shape with a periphery corresponding tothe plurality of supporting pins 73 a, 73 b.

The first movable member 74 of FIG. 5 is U-shaped. The first supportingmember 71 is fixed to one end of the first movable member 74. The otherend of the first movable member 74 is connected to the link mechanism77. Similarly, the second movable member 75 of FIG. 6 is U-shaped. Thesecond supporting member 72 is fixed to one end of the second movablemember 75. The other end of the second movable member 75 is connected tothe link mechanism 77. The link mechanism 77 is attached to the rotatingshaft of the rotating mechanism 78. The link mechanism 77 and therotating mechanism 78 are attached to the fixing plate 76.

The link mechanism 77 of FIG. 5 incorporates an air cylinder or thelike. The link mechanism 77 can selectively shift the first movablemember 74 and the second movable member 75 between a state where theyare spaced apart from each other and a state where they are close toeach other. The rotating mechanism 78 incorporates a motor or the like.The rotating mechanism 78 can rotate the first movable member 74 and thesecond movable member 75 through, for example, 180 degrees around thehorizontal axis via the link mechanism 77.

As shown in FIG. 4, the moving mechanism 30 includes a base 31, a pairof transport rails 3 a, a direct acting mechanism 3 b, a driver 3 c, alink member 3 d and a pair of sliding blocks 3 e. Note that a part ofthe members such as the link member 3 d and the like are omitted in FIG.4( b) for simplification.

The pair of transport rails 3 a is fixed on the base 31 in parallel tothe V direction. The pair of sliding blocks 3 e is slidably attached tothe pair of transport rails 3 a. The floorboard 79 of the reversingmechanism 70 is attached to the sliding blocks 3 e.

The direct acting mechanism 3 b is composed of for example, a ball screwmechanism and an electric cylinder that incorporates a motor applying adriving force to the ball screw mechanism. The driver 3 c is provided inthe direct acting mechanism 3 b. The driver 3 c is linked to thefloorboard 79 by the link member 3 d.

In such a configuration, the direct acting mechanism 3 b moves thedriver 3 c in the horizontal direction to the transport rails 3 a, sothat the reversing mechanism 70 is moved back and forth along thetransport rails 3 a in the V direction.

Here, the operation of the substrate reverse moving device 7 isdescribed with reference to drawings.

First, the substrate W is carried into the substrate reverse movingdevice 7 by the indexer robot IR (FIG. 1). In this case, the reversingmechanism 70 is moved to be positioned at an end of the pair oftransport rails 3 a on the indexer robot IR side (hereinafter referredto as a first transfer position). The substrate W is transferred ontothe plurality of substrate supporting pins 73 b of the second supportingmember 72 by the indexer robot IR in the state where the first movablemember 74 and the second movable member 75 are vertically spaced apartfrom each other.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4( a), the link mechanism 77 operates to shiftthe first movable member 74 and the second movable member 75 to thestate where they are vertically close to each other. Accordingly, theboth sides of the substrate W are supported by the plurality ofsubstrate supporting pins 73 a, 73 b, respectively.

Next, the rotating mechanism 78 operates to rotate the first movablemember 74 and the second movable member 75 through 180 degrees around anaxis in the U direction while the reversing mechanism 70 moves to thesubstrate transport robot CR (FIG. 1) side on the pair of transportrails 3 a along the V direction as shown in FIG. 4( b). Thus, thesubstrate W is rotated through 180 degrees together with the firstmovable member 74 and the second movable member 75 while being held bythe plurality of substrate supporting pins 73 a, 73 b provided on thefirst supporting member 71 and the second supporting member 72.

In this way, the substrate W is moved to the vicinity of the substratetransport robot CR while being reversed by the reversing mechanism 70.Here, the reversing mechanism 70 is moved to be positioned at an end ofthe pair of transport rails 3 a on the substrate transport robot CR side(hereinafter referred to as a second transfer position).

The link mechanism 77 subsequently operates to shift the first movablemember 74 and the second movable member 75 to the state where they arevertically spaced apart from each other. In this state, the substrate Wis carried out of the substrate reverse moving device 7 by the substratetransport robot CR.

Meanwhile, when the substrate W is carried into the substrate reversemoving device 7 by the substrate transport robot CR, the substrate W ismoved to the vicinity of the indexer robot IR while being reversed bythe reversing mechanism 70 by operations reverse to the above-mentionedoperations. In the state, the substrate W is carried out of thesubstrate reverse moving device 7 by the indexer robot IR.

(1-4) Configurations of the Indexer Robot and the Substrate TransportRobot

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing configurations of the indexer robot IR andthe substrate transport robot CR in the substrate processing apparatus100 of FIG. 1. FIG. 7( a) shows the configuration of a multi-joint armof the indexer robot IR, and FIG. 7( b) shows the configuration of amulti-joint arm of the substrate transport robot CR. Note that as forthe θ in FIG. 7( a) and FIG. 7( b), a clockwise direction on the paperis defined as a +θ direction and an anticlockwise direction on the paperis defined as a −θ direction.

As shown in FIG. 7( a), the indexer robot IR includes a pair oftransport arms am4, cm4 for holding the substrate W, advance/withdrawingmembers am1, am2, am3 and cm1, cm2, cm3 for allowing the pair oftransport arms am4, cm4 to advance and withdraw with respect to a mainbody IRH of the indexer robot independently from each other, a rotatingmechanism (not shown) for rotating the main body IRH of the indexerrobot in the ±θ direction around and a U direction movement mechanism(not shown) for moving the main body IRH of the indexer robot in the Udirection.

The advance/withdrawing members am1, am2, am3 and cm1, cm2, cm3 are of amulti-joint arm type and allow the pair of transport arms am4, cm4 toadvance and withdraw in the horizontal direction while maintaining theirpostures. One transport arm am4 is designed to advance and withdraw atan upper level than the other transport arm cm4, and these transportarms am4, cm4 vertically overlap with each other in an initial statewhere both the pair of transport arms am4, cm4 are retracted above themain body IRH of the indexer robot.

The main body IRH of the indexer robot drives the advance/withdrawingmembers am1, am2, am3 and cm1, cm2, cm3 in accordance with aninstruction from the controller 4 (FIG. 1). The advance/withdrawingmembers am1, am2, am3 and cm1, cm2, cm3 have driving devices that arecomposed of motors, wires, pulleys and the like for moving the pair oftransport arms am4, cm4 back and forth. The foregoing members allow thedriving force to be directly applied to each of the pair of transportarms am4, cm4, so that the pair of transport arms am4, cm4 can advanceand withdraw in the horizontal direction.

This allows the transport arms am4, cm4 of the indexer robot IR to movein the T direction, rotate in the ±θ direction, and extend/contractwhile supporting the substrate W.

Further, a plurality of substrate supporters PS are attached to an uppersurface of each of the transport arms am4, cm4. In the presentembodiment, four substrate supporters PS are attached at substantiallyequal spacings along the periphery of the substrate W that is placed onthe upper surface of each of the transport arms am4, cm4. The substrateW is supported by these four substrate supporters PS. Note that thenumber of the substrate supporters PS is not limited to four, and thesubstrate supporters may be used in any number with which the substrateW can be stably supported.

When the reversing mechanism 70 of the substrate reverse moving device 7is in the first transfer position, the indexer robot IR advances eitherone of the transport arms am4, cm4 toward the substrate reverse movingdevice 7 in the V direction in the position facing the substrate reversemoving device 7, so that the substrate W can be transferred and receivedto and from the reversing mechanism 70.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7( b), the substrate transport robot CR includesa pair of transport arms bm4, dm4 for holding the substrate W,advance/withdrawing members bm1, bm2, bm3 and dm1, dm2, dm3 for allowingthe pair of transport arms bm4, dm4 to advance and withdraw with respectto a main body CRH of the substrate transport robot independently fromeach other, a rotating mechanism (not shown) for rotating the main bodyCRH of the substrate transport robot in the ±θ direction around thevertical axis and a lifting mechanism (not shown) for lifting the mainbody CRH of the substrate transport robot in the T direction.

The advance/withdrawing members bm1, bm2, bm3 and dm1, dm2, dm3 are ofthe multi-joint arm type and allow the pair of transport arms bm4, dm4to advance and withdraw in the horizontal direction while maintainingtheir postures. One transport arm bm4 is designed to advance andwithdraw at an upper level than the other transport arm dm4, and thesetransport arms bm4, dm4 vertically overlap with each other in an initialstate where both the pair of transport arms bm4, dm4 are retracted abovethe main body CRH of the substrate transport robot.

The main body CRH of the substrate transport robot drives theadvance/withdrawing members bm1, bm2, bm3 and dm1, dm2, dm3 inaccordance with an instruction from the controller 4 (FIG. 1). Theadvance/withdrawing members bm1, bm2, bm3 and dm1, dm2, dm3 have drivingdevices that are composed of motors, wires, pulleys and the like formoving the pair of transport arms bm4, dm4 back and forth. The foregoingmechanisms allow the driving force to be directly applied to each of thepair of transport arms bm4, dm4, so that the pair of transport arms bm4,dm4 can advance and withdraw in the horizontal direction.

This allows the transport arms bm4, dm4 to move in the T direction,rotate in the ±θ direction, and extend/contract while supporting thesubstrate W.

Further, a plurality of substrate supporters PS are attached to an uppersurface of each of the transport arms bm4, dm4 of the substratetransport robot CR. In the present embodiment, four substrate supportersPS are attached at substantially equal spacings along the periphery ofthe substrate W that is placed on the upper surface of each of thetransport arms bm4, dm4. The substrate W is supported by the foursubstrate supporters PS. Note that the number of the substratesupporters PS is not limited to four, and the substrate supporters maybe used in any number with which the substrate W can be stablysupported.

When the reversing mechanism 70 of the substrate reverse moving device 7is in the second transfer position, the substrate transport robot CRadvances either one of the transport arms bm4, dm4 toward the substratereverse moving device 7 in the V direction, so that the substrate W canbe transferred and received to and from the reversing mechanism 70.

Note that in the present embodiment, description has been made of a casewhere both the indexer robot IR and substrate transport robot CR are ofa double-arm type having the respective pairs of transport arms am4, cm4and bm4, dm4, however, either or both of the indexer robot IR and thesubstrate transport robot CR may be of a single-arm type with only onetransport arm.

(1-5) Example of Substrate Transporting Process

While an example of the transporting processes of the substrate W issubsequently described, the transporting processes of the substrate Ware not limited to the following description.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the transporting processes of thesubstrate W. First, the reversing mechanism 70 of the substrate reversemoving device 7 moves to the first transfer position on the indexerrobot IR side as shown in FIG. 8. The indexer robot IR takes thesubstrate W out of the carrier 1 and transfers the substrate W to thesubstrate reverse moving device 7 (step S1).

Next, the reversing mechanism 70 of the substrate reverse moving device7 moves to the second transfer position on the substrate transport robotCR side along the V direction while reversing the substrate W receivedfrom the indexer robot IR (step S2).

Then, the substrate transport robot CR receives the substrate W from thesubstrate reverse moving device 7 (step S3). The substrate transportrobot CR subsequently carries the substrate W into any of the processingunits MP1-MP8 (step S4).

Next, the substrate W is subjected to the processing by any of theprocessing units described above (step S5). The substrate transportrobot CR subsequently carries the substrate W after the processing outof any of the processing units described above (step S6). Then, thesubstrate transport robot CR transfers the substrate W to the substratereverse moving device 7 (step S7).

The substrate reverse moving device 7 subsequently moves to the firsttransfer position on the indexer robot IR side along the above-describedV direction while reversing the substrate W received from the substratetransport robot CR (step S8). Then, the indexer robot IR receives thesubstrate W from the substrate reverse moving device 7 (step S9). Afterthis, the indexer robot IR stores the substrate W in a predeterminedcarrier 1.

(1-6) Effects of the First Embodiment

According to the substrate processing apparatus 100 of the presentembodiment, the substrate reverse moving device 7 in the transferportion 3 has both the function of a shuttle transporting mechanism thatmediates the substrate W transferred between the indexer robot IR andthe substrate transport robot CR and the function of a substratereversing mechanism that reverses the substrate W. That is, the movingmechanism 30 of the substrate reverse moving device 7 moves thereversing mechanism 70 back and forth in a straight line between thefirst transfer position and the second transfer position, so that thesubstrate W is transferred between the indexer robot IR and thesubstrate transport robot CR and is reversed.

Thus, the substrate transport robot CR performs the two transportingprocesses for the single substrate W, that is, a transporting processfrom the substrate reverse moving device 7 to the processing unit and atransporting process from the processing unit to the substrate reversemoving device 7.

As described above, the number of the transporting processes by thesubstrate transport robot CR is reduced, so that the throughput of theprocessing of the substrate W is improved.

In addition, the transfer portion 3 including the substrate reversemoving device 7 is provided in the position of the transport region Cbetween the indexer robot IR and the substrate transport robot CR, sothat the configuration of the existing substrate processing apparatus (aconfiguration of a so-called platform) is not required to be changed.This can suppress an increase in production cost of the substrateprocessing apparatus 100.

(2) Second Embodiment (2-1) Configuration of Substrate ProcessingApparatus

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to asecond embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9, a configuration of the substrate processingapparatus 100 a according to the second embodiment is different from theconfiguration of the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to thefirst embodiment in that the transfer portion 3 includes a substratereverse moving device 7 a instead of the substrate reverse moving device7. The difference is described in the following with reference todrawings.

(2-2) Configuration and Operation of the Substrate Reverse Moving Device

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural view of the substrate reverse movingdevice 7 a of FIG. 9. FIG. 10( a) is a side view of the substratereverse moving device 7 a, and FIG. 10( b) is a top view of thesubstrate reverse moving device 7 a.

As shown in FIG. 10( a), the configuration of the substrate reversemoving device 7 a is different from the configuration of theabove-described substrate reverse moving device 7 (FIG. 4) in that amoving mechanism 30 a is provided instead of the moving mechanism 30.The moving mechanism 30 a includes a base 31, a rotating shaft 3 g and amotor 3 f.

The motor 3 f is fixed on the base 31. A shaft of the motor 3 f isconnected to a lower surface of the floorboard 79 by the rotating shaft3 g. Such a configuration allows the reversing mechanism 70 to rotate inthe ±θ direction (around the axis in the T direction) as shown in FIG.10( b).

The substrate W can be transferred to and from a transfer side S on theopposite side of the rotating mechanism 78 in the reversing mechanism 70of this substrate reverse moving device 7 a.

In the present embodiment, the substrate reverse moving device 7 a isarranged on a line connecting a position of the indexer robot IR intransferring and receiving the substrate W and a position of thesubstrate transport robot CR in transferring and receiving the substrateW.

Next, the operation of the substrate reverse moving device 7 a of thepresent embodiment is described.

First, the indexer robot IR moves to a position that faces the substratereverse moving device 7 a. In addition, the reversing mechanism 70 isrotated by the moving mechanism 30 a, so that the transfer side S facesthe indexer robot IR.

In this state, one transport arm of the indexer robot IR advances in anadvance/withdraw direction V1 parallel to the V direction, so that thesubstrate W is carried into the substrate reverse moving device 7 a.

Then, the rotating mechanism 78 operates to rotate the first movablemember 74 and the second movable member 75 of the reversing mechanism 70through 180 degrees around the horizontal axis while the reversingmechanism 70 rotates through 180 degrees around the rotating shaft 3 gin the θ direction. Thus, the transfer side S of the reversing mechanism70 faces the substrate transport robot CR while the substrate W isreversed.

In this state, one transport arm of the substrate transport robot CRadvances in an advance/withdraw direction V2 parallel to the Vdirection, so that the substrate W is carried out of the substratereverse moving device 7 a.

Meanwhile, when the substrate W is carried into the substrate reversemoving device 7 a by the substrate transport robot CR, the reversingmechanism 70 rotates to allow the transfer side S to face the indexerrobot IR while reversing the substrate W by operations reverse to theabove-described operations. In the state, the substrate W is carried outof the substrate reverse moving device 7 a by the indexer robot IR.

(2-3) Effects of the Second Embodiment

According to the substrate processing apparatus 100 a of the presentembodiment, the substrate reverse moving device 7 a has both thefunction of the shuttle transporting mechanism that mediates thesubstrate W transferred between the indexer robot IR and the substratetransport robot CR and the function of the substrate reversing mechanismthat reverses the substrate W. That is, the moving mechanism 30 a of thesubstrate reverse moving device 7 a rotates the reversing mechanism 70through 180 degrees so that the reversing mechanism 70 faces the firsttransfer direction toward the advance/withdraw direction V1 or a secondtransfer direction toward the advance/withdraw direction V2, therebyallowing the substrate W to be transferred between the indexer robot IRand the substrate transport robot CR and to be reversed.

Thus, the substrate transport robot CR performs the two transportingprocesses for the single substrate W, that is, a transporting processfrom the substrate reverse moving device 7 a to the processing unit anda transporting process from the processing unit to the substrate reversemoving device 7 a.

As described above, the number of the transporting processes by thesubstrate transport robot CR is reduced, so that the throughput of theprocessing of the substrate W is improved.

In addition, the transfer portion 3 including the substrate reversemoving device 7 a is provided in the position of the transport region Cbetween the indexer robot IR and the substrate transport robot CR, sothat the configuration of the existing substrate processing apparatus(the configuration of the so-called platform) is not required to bechanged. This can suppress the increase in the production cost of thesubstrate processing apparatus 100 a.

(3) Third Embodiment (3-1) Configuration of Substrate ProcessingApparatus

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according toa third embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 11, a configuration of the substrate processingapparatus 100 b according to the third embodiment is different from theconfiguration of the substrate processing apparatus 100 a according tothe second embodiment in that the fluid boxes 2 a, 2 c and theprocessing units MP1, MP2, MP5, MP6 are not provided, and the substratereverse moving device 7 a of the transfer portion 3 is provided in adifferent arrangement. Accordingly, the substrate processing apparatus100 b according to the present embodiment is composed of the fourprocessing units MP3, MP4, MP7, MP8. The arrangement of the substratereverse moving device 7 a is described with reference to drawings.

As shown in FIG. 11, the substrate reverse moving device 7 a is providedin a position spaced sideward from the line connecting the position ofthe indexer robot IR in transferring and receiving the substrate W andthe position of the substrate transport robot CR in transferring andreceiving the substrate W. Accordingly, a rotation angle, between theadvance/withdraw direction of the transport arm when the indexer robotIR stores and takes the substrate W in and out of the carrier 1 and theadvance/withdraw direction of the transport arm when the indexer robotIR transfers and receives the substrate W to and from the substratereverse moving device 7 a, of the indexer robot IR becomes smaller than180 degrees.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing an arrangement of the substratereverse moving device 7 a in the third embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 12, the substrate reverse moving device 7 a is arrangedin a position where the indexer robot IR can transfer and receive thesubstrate W to and from the substrate reverse moving device 7 a when theindexer robot IR is rotated so that the advance/withdraw direction ofthe transport arm rotates through, for example, 120 degrees in the −θdirection from the V direction toward the carrier 1.

Next, an operation of the substrate reverse moving device 7 a in thepresent embodiment is described.

First, the indexer robot IR rotates the advance/withdraw direction ofthe transport arm through, for example, 120 degrees from the V directiontoward the carrier 1 to the −θ direction while moving to a centralportion of the indexer ID. Moreover, the reversing mechanism 70 isrotated by the moving mechanism 30 a (FIG. 10), so that the transferside S (FIG. 10) faces the indexer robot IR.

In this state, one transport arm of the indexer robot IR advances in theadvance/withdraw direction V1, so that the substrate W is carried intothe substrate reverse moving device 7 a.

Then, the reversing mechanism 70 reverses the substrate W while rotatingthrough, for example, 120 degrees in the +θ direction. Accordingly, thetransfer side S (FIG. 10) of the reversing mechanism 70 faces thesubstrate transport robot CR as indicated by the dotted line. In thisstate, one transport arm of the substrate transport robot CR advances inthe advance/withdraw direction V2 at, for example, 120 degrees to the Vdirection, so that the substrate W is carried out of the substratereverse moving device 7 a.

Meanwhile, when the substrate W is carried into the substrate reversemoving device 7 a by the substrate transport robot CR, the reversingmechanism 70 rotates through, for example, 120 degrees so that thetransfer side S (FIG. 10) faces the indexer robot IR while the substrateW is reversed by the reversing mechanism 70 by operations reverse to theabove-mentioned operations. In the state, the substrate W is carried outof the substrate reverse moving device 7 a by the indexer robot IR.

(3-2) Effects of the Third Embodiment

According to the substrate processing apparatus 100 b of the presentembodiment, the substrate reverse moving device 7 a has both thefunction of the shuttle transporting mechanism that mediates thesubstrate W transferred between the indexer robot IR and the substratetransport robot CR and the function of the substrate reversing mechanismthat reverses the substrate W. That is, the moving mechanism 30 a of thesubstrate reverse moving device 7 a rotates the reversing mechanism 70through, for example, 120 degrees so that the reversing mechanism facesthe first transfer direction toward the advance/withdraw direction V1 orthe second transfer direction toward the advance/withdraw direction V2,thereby allowing the substrate W to be transferred between the indexerrobot IR and the substrate transport robot CR and to be reversed.

Thus, the substrate transport robot CR performs the two transportingprocesses for the single substrate W, that is, the transporting processfrom the substrate reverse moving device 7 a to the processing unit andthe transporting process from the processing unit to the substratereverse moving device 7 a.

As described above, the number of the transporting processes by thesubstrate transport robot CR is reduced, so that the throughput of theprocessing of the substrate W is improved.

In addition, the substrate reverse moving device 7 a is provided in theposition spaced sideward from the line connecting the position of theindexer robot IR in transferring and receiving the substrate W and theposition of the substrate transport robot CR in transferring andreceiving the substrate W. Accordingly, the indexer robot IR rotatesthrough an angle of smaller than 180 degrees in the −θ direction, sothat the indexer robot IR can transport the substrate W between thecarrier 1 and the substrate reverse moving device 7 a. In addition, thereversing mechanism 70 of the substrate reverse moving device 7 arotates through an angle of smaller than 180 degrees in the +θdirection, so that the substrate W is transferred between the indexerrobot IR and the substrate transport robot CR. Accordingly, a transporttime of the substrate W by the indexer robot IR and a transfer time ofthe substrate W by the substrate reverse moving device 7 a areshortened. This allows the throughput of the processing of the substrateW to be further improved.

(4) Other Embodiments

The reversing mechanism 70 has the configuration where the reversingmechanism 70 reverses the substrate W while holding the substrate W suchthat the substrate W is sandwiched from its both surface sides in theabove-described embodiments, however, the reversing mechanism 70 mayhave another configuration. For example, the reversing mechanism 70 mayhave the configuration where the substrate W is reversed in the statewhere two parts, being opposite to each other, on the peripheral portionof the substrate W are held by the reversing mechanism 70.

While the case where the substrate W is processed by any of theprocessing units and the substrate W after the processing issubsequently transferred to the substrate reverse moving device 7, 7 aby the substrate transport robot CR is described as an example in theabove-described embodiments, the present invention is not limited tothis and the substrate W after the above-described processing may becarried into another processing unit by the substrate transport robot CRand subsequently subjected to the processing by the processing unit.

While the substrate reverse moving device 7 a is arranged in a positionanticlockwise from the V direction, centered around the rotation shaftof the indexer robot IR, in the above-described third embodiment, thepresent invention is not limited to this and the substrate reversemoving device 7 a may be arranged in a position clockwise from the Vdirection, centered around the above-described rotation shaft.

(5) Correspondences between Structural Elements in Claims and Elementsin the Embodiments

In the following paragraphs, non-limiting examples of correspondencesbetween various elements recited in the claims below and those describedabove with respect to various embodiments of the present invention areexplained.

In the above-described embodiments, the transport region C is an exampleof a carrying in and out region, the carrier 1 is an example of astoring container, the carrier platform 1 a is an example of a containerplatform, the indexer robot IR is an example of a first transportdevice, the substrate transport robot CR is an example of a secondtransport device, the substrate reverse moving devices 7, 7 a areexamples of a transfer portion, the reversing mechanism 70 is an exampleof a reversing mechanism and the moving mechanisms 30, 30 a are examplesof a moving mechanism.

Moreover, the first transfer position is an example of a position wherethe substrate can be transferred between the first transport device andthe reversing device, the second transfer position is an example of aposition where the substrate can be transferred between the secondtransport device and the reversing device, the transport arms am4, cm4are examples of a first supporter, and the transport arms bm4, dm4 areexamples of a second supporter in the above-described embodiments.

Furthermore, the advance/withdraw direction V1 is an example of a firstadvance/withdraw direction, the advance/withdraw direction V2 is anexample of a second advance/withdraw direction, the ±θ direction (aroundthe axis in the T direction) is an example of a circumferentialdirection centered around an axis in a substantially vertical direction,the U direction is an example of a first axis direction, the V directionis an example of a second axis direction and the advance/withdrawdirection V1 is an example of a third axis direction in theabove-described embodiments.

As each of various elements recited in the claims, various otherelements having configurations or functions described in the claims canbe also used.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will beapparent to those skilled in the art without departing the scope andspirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention,therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.

1. A substrate processing apparatus that subjects a substrate having onesurface and the other surface to processing, comprising: a processingregion for processing the substrate; a carrying in and out region forcarrying the substrate into and out of said processing region; and atransfer portion for transferring the substrate between said processingregion and said carrying in and out region, wherein said carrying in andout region includes a container platform where a storing container thatstores the substrate is placed, and a first transport device thattransports the substrate between the storing container that is placed onsaid container platform and said transfer portion, said processingregion includes a processing unit that performs the processing on thesubstrate, and a second transport device that transports the substratebetween said transfer portion and said processing unit, and saidtransfer portion includes a reversing mechanism that reverses the onesurface and the other surface of the substrate, and a moving mechanismthat moves said reversing mechanism so that the substrate can betransferred between said first transport device and said reversingmechanism and transferred between said second transport device and saidreversing mechanism.
 2. The substrate processing apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein said moving mechanism linearly moves said reversingmechanism back and forth in a horizontal direction between a positionwhere the substrate can be transferred between said first transportdevice and said reversing mechanism and a position where the substratecan be transferred between said second transport device and saidreversing mechanism.
 3. The substrate processing apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein said first transport device includes a first supporterthat supports the substrate and is provided so as to advance andwithdraw, said first supporter advances and withdraws in a firstadvance/withdraw direction with respect to said reversing mechanism whentransferring and receiving the substrate to and from said reversingmechanism, said second transport device includes a second supporter thatsupports the substrate and is provided so as to advance and withdraw,said second supporter advances and withdraws in a secondadvance/withdraw direction with respect to said reversing mechanism whentransferring and receiving the substrate to and from said reversingmechanism, and said moving mechanism rotates said reversing mechanismaround a substantially vertical axis so that said reversing mechanismfaces a first transfer direction toward said first advance/withdrawdirection or a second transfer direction toward said secondadvance/withdraw direction.
 4. The substrate processing apparatusaccording to claim 3, wherein said reversing mechanism is arranged sothat a rotation angle between said first transfer direction and saidsecond transfer direction is 180 degrees.
 5. The substrate processingapparatus according to claim 3, wherein said reversing mechanism isarranged so that a rotation angle between said first transfer directionand said second transfer direction is smaller than 180 degrees.
 6. Thesubstrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said firsttransport device is provided so as to move in parallel to a first axisdirection, stores and takes the substrate in and out of the storingcontainer that is placed on said container platform in a state wheresaid first transport device faces a second direction perpendicular tosaid first axis direction, and transfers and receives the substrate toand from said reversing mechanism in a state where said first transportdevice faces a third axis direction at an angle of smaller than 180degrees to said second axis direction.
 7. A substrate processing methodfor subjecting a substrate to processing by a substrate processingapparatus including a carrying in and out region that includes acontainer platform and a first transport device, a processing regionthat includes a processing unit and a second transport device and atransfer portion for transferring the substrate between said processingregion and said carrying in and out region, comprising the steps of:taking the substrate before processing out of a storing container thatis placed on said container platform and transferring the taken outsubstrate before the processing to said transfer portion by said firsttransport device; moving said reversing mechanism so that the substratebefore the processing can be transferred from said reversing mechanismto said second transport device while reversing one surface and theother surface of the substrate before the processing by a reversingmechanism in said transfer portion; transporting the substrate beforethe processing from said transfer portion to said processing unit bysaid second transport device; processing the substrate before theprocessing in said processing unit; transporting the substrate havingbeen processed in said processing unit from said processing unit to saidtransfer portion by said second transport device; moving said reversingmechanism so that the substrate after the processing can be transferredfrom said transfer portion to said first transport device whilereversing the other surface and the one surface of the substrate afterthe processing by said reversing mechanism in said transfer portion; andreceiving the substrate after the processing from said transfer portionand storing the received substrate after the processing in said storingcontainer by said first transport device.